


Aquatics

by firelord65



Series: Tales from the Pit [22]
Category: Divergent (Movies), Divergent Series - Veronica Roth
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Swimming, shortfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-13
Updated: 2018-09-13
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:01:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27519538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/firelord65/pseuds/firelord65
Summary: With the upcoming water training, Tris confronts her worries that she doesn't know what to expect at all.
Relationships: Eric/Tris Prior
Series: Tales from the Pit [22]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2011174
Kudos: 2





	Aquatics

"What's it like?" I asked Eric. He and I were sitting in the conference room with reports from the last few batches of remedial simulations scattered around. We hadn't really, earnestly flipped through any in the past hour. My nerves were eating me alive. Eric just didn't care for reading reports on a Thursday evening.

He looked up at me, file folder falling into his lap. "Hm? What's what like?" he asked in return.

"The lake. Swimming. What does it feel like when you're not all wrapped up in a simulation?" I'd wanted to ask all week, ever since Melanie put "Aquatics Training" on the board. The question and curiosity rose up from the back of my mind a little more each day as we ticked closer and closer to the assigned training block. Tomorrow was the day. I'd either get to ask now or go to bed with the nerves still rattling around inside me.

Eric exhaled and leaned back in his chair. "I don't remember you having a fear of water," he said with a frown.

I raised my eyebrow. "Ah yes. That tank I nearly drowned in was filled with tapioca pudding. And that ocean one, well, who knows what that was really all about," I replied in a deadpan voice. He deserved to get sassed back as good as he gave.

I waited for a moment, just long enough to extract a suitably pained expression from him, before laughing. "Before you take me too seriously, I _know_ I don't actually have a phobia of drowning. I get that those were about losing control, feeling powerless. Not literally being stuck in a box designed for drowning initiates," I said.

He grumbled under his breath and shook his head. "One of these days, Prior," he said in an empty threat. The file folder landed with a flop on the conference table.

"C'mon. Showing's better than telling," he insisted. I wasn't so quick to chuck my stack of folders aside.

"Oh no," I protested. "It's late. We're just supposed to grab dinner and call it a night." This wasn't how I wanted my curiosity answered. He was supposed to answer the question. That was all. I could just deal with the stomach acrobatics and suffer along with my mates tomorrow if he wasn't going to talk.

Eric stood and tugged the folders out of my hands. I continued to shake my head. He leaned over and pinned me to the chair, his hands resting lightly on the chair back. "Tris," Eric coaxed, "it'll be fun. I don't want all your Dauntless firsts to be just from training sessions."

I leaned my face against his forearm. "You're usually all about training as a point of entry to Dauntless traditions."

He grinned, replying, "You're not wrong. That's why I said 'not all.' There are plenty of things that are best experienced through the wonder of drills. Swimming isn't one of them. C'mon. Grab your suit and meet me at the train platform."

* * *

Our dinner was going to be a late one originally anyways so by the time that we switched trains onto the single outbound track to Amity, the sun was a brilliant orange disk just barely suspended on the horizon. Eric smooth-talked one of the women at the station we landed at into lending us her truck. We arrived at the lake shore just as the stars were starting to show up against the blue-grey sky.

Eric looked over at me after he turned the engine off. "You ready?" he asked.

"Does it matter if I'm not?" I replied dryly. I was already here with my swimsuit on. After all the effort it had taken to get here, I wasn't going to suddenly tell him 'no thanks.' Plus, that wouldn't answer my question.

His grin widened in the orange light of the truck's cab. Eric squeezed my shoulder and hopped out. I followed with significantly less vigor, dragging my feet through the sandy dirt. The beach wasn't quite the white sand perfection that we had in our geographic textbooks, but it was what we had.

Eric tossed our towels to the side and pulled his shirt off. _Mmm._ There was at least one immediate benefit of putting up with him dragging me out here. He cocked an eyebrow and started walking backwards into the water, kicking off his shoes as he went. "C'mon, Prior. It'll only get harder to get in the longer you wait," he taunted.

"Isn't that the opposite of how it normally works?" I shot in return. "Y'know. You said harder and waiting." He rolled his eyes, refusing to even give me a half-hearted chuckle. I shucked my tank top and unlaced my boots. We'd both have wet swimsuit bottoms heading back to the city. Oh well. Finally there was nothing left to delay the inevitable.

I walked up to the lapping shore, wincing from the occasional sharp rock. Why _couldn't_ we have perfect, sandy shores? My toes curled back as the water rose up to touch them. Eric wasn't kidding. The water was chilly and with the sun well set the air was losing heat fast.

He stood knee-deep in the shallows, his hands on his hips. I sucked in a breath and charged at him. Ice seemed to envelope my feet, my ankles, and my legs. I gasped and kept going, pulling my knees up high to avoid as much contact with the lake as possible. Eric was laughing right up until I slammed into him.

Then we both went down, ass over elbows, into the lake. Eric took the worst of the fall, his body keeping me from going all the way under. He came up with a rush of motion, curses and laughter falling from his lips. "Christ, Tris. That was _cruel!_ " he said, propping himself up on his elbows.

I rested on his chest, elbows tucked tightly in to preserve as much body heat as possible. Now that I was past the initial shock… no, it was still pretty cold. Eric wrapped one arm around me and I leaned into his embrace.

Right before he spun and dunked me full force under the shallow water as well. I shrieked as every inch of me was now miserably covered in lake.

Oh. It was on.

Eric scrambled back to his feet and started off deeper into the lake. I followed as soon as I could see again, rubbing my eyes as I flailed my way into hip then chest and finally neck deep water.

"You're not going to get away with that," I swore.

He turned to face me as he continued to swim backwards away from me. "It seems like I already am," Eric countered.

I stopped when stretching up on my toes could barely keep my chin above water. Eric slowed as well, that all too familiar cocky grin stretched across his face. "You can do it," he said. "Trust yourself."

I didn't. That was the problem. The community pool was one thing - and the deep end had always been too crowded for Caleb and I to really take advantage of growing up. Here there were waves rolling in, making me sputter and backpedal closer to shore again. "I think I'm good here," I said.

Eric slowly made his way back. Probably he didn't trust this to not be a trap, which would have been clever of me. But my revenge plot was on backburner. I settled back where I could put my whole foot down without my mouth getting splashed every few seconds. The lakebed here was squishy, eagerly sucking my toes into its muck. Eric swam next to me and stood on his own feet. He had the height advantage here; the water only came to the middle of his neck tattoo.

"Just try swimming here, then. Roll back and keep yourself afloat with your arms and feet," he countered.

"Easy for you to say," I grumbled.

His head tipped to the side and his grin softened into the one he kept reserved for friends and me. "No, not easy for me to say. I hate aquatics. I sink," Eric said honestly.

"You sink," I replied flatly.

He slid up next to me and wrapped his arms around my side. "Yep," he said. "Like a rock." He pulled us both over, but not enough to dunk me. I immediately had to break loose from his hold and start flailing my legs and arms into something resembling swimming.

"Oi!" I protested. Eric remained unmollified, floating along next to me.

"You're so stubborn. God, I love it," he said with a chuckle. It was difficult to glare at him while I got my swimming in line. After the initial rush of worry I was able to relax. I did know how to swim. Even in the pool - with the bottom safely within reach of my feet - I would swim around just like Eric was now.

"I'm not saying thanks," I grumbled. He came up and pressed a kiss to my temple before darting away. He was heading back to the deeper reaches of the lake shore. "And I'm still going to get you back for dunking me!"

Eric's voice rose up over the evening wind. "You'll have to catch me first."

I took a deep breath and swam after him.

**Author's Note:**

> Previously a part of the "Tales from the Pit" compilation fic on my profile. Moving all of these to their own pieces in a series instead so they can be more accurately tagged on their own.
> 
> If you'd like to read more aquatics / lake shenanigans, I _highly_ recommend SymbioticDeath's "[A Fonte Puro](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11445060)". It's super cute :3 I borrowed a line from it but her delivery is way, way better than mine.


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